Color-design-display contrivance



June 25, 1929. M. c. THOMAS COLOR DESIGN DISPLA CONTRIVANCE Filed Sept.22, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 6 M f n, M 4 liv MW w ir, 4 9 CT MAIN, Zw

8 .9 .E .d J W5 v MW 9 f o 1/l, M W17/ Ww M ,LW A 40 365 37 June 25,1929. M. c. THOMAS 1.718.499

COIL-:OR DESIGN DISPLAY GONTRIVANCE Filed Sept. 22, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet2 Patented June 25, 1929.

UNITED STATES HABGUERITE C. THOMAS, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

COLORfDESIGN-DISPLAY CONTRIVANCE.

Application led September 22, 1925. Serial Re. 57,980.

My invention relates to a contrivance which is useful for purposes ofentertainment, education, display advertising, and the like.

It is an object of this invention to provide a contrivance which willproduce different designs of changing colors in response to soundvibrations.

lVhen a vacuum tube or Crookes tube has the electrodes thereof connectedin an electric circuit, electric discharges will pass between theelectrodes, producing different shades ot' color throughout the lengthof the tube. These colors vary as the length of the tube and thediameter of the tube varies.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a contrivance for thepurpose mentioned having a rotor carrying one or more vacuum tubes, Vtheterminal of which tubes is connected in circuits having sound responsivemeans for establishing these circuits.

lt is another object of this invention to provide a contrivance of thischaracter in which the rotor is driven by a motor.

lt is another object of this invention to provide a contrivance of thischaracter which has arms secured to adjustable slide bars so thatditl'erent lengths of tubesmay be carried by said rotor.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a contrivance ofthis character in which the circuit of onc'of said tubes has a soundresponsive means which is affected by the higher tones, and in which thecircuit of the other of said tubes has a sound responsive f means whichis aected by the lower tones.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a contrivance of thecharacter mentioned in which the electric circuits have induction coilsfor obtaining intensity currents.

Sometimes very long notes are produced which would actuate the soundresponsive means in such a manner as to prolong the closing of thecircuits and to cause continued streams of colored light through thetubes. The designs are much more attractive if the colored streams arebroken, and it is therefore sometimes desirable to include iuterruptersin the circuits for breaking prolonged closing of the circuits whichwould ordinarily be produced by lon notes.

It is accorc ingly another object of this inf vention to provide acontrivance of the character mentioned in which the electric circuitsare provided with circuit interrupters.

Other objects and advantages of this inlvention will be made evidenthereinafter.

Referring to the two drawings in which I illustrate a preferred forni ofmy invention:

14 ig. is a view illustrating one of the uses of n iy invention.

Fig. 2 1s a section taken through my invention substantially asindicated by the line :.-2 ot' Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 is a section taken substantially as indicated by the line 3-3 ofFig. 2. l

Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken through the rotor of myinvention.

Fig. G is a. section taken on the line 6-6 of Fig.' 5.

Figs. 7 and 8 are enlarged fragmentary views showing the manner in whichthe vac.- uum tubes employed in my invention are secured to the rotor.

Fig. 9 is an electrical diagram showing the various circuits of theapparatus.

As shown clearly in Figs. 2 to 6 my invention provides a case 11 havinga central wall v12 which divides the case 11 into a Jfront compartment13 and a rear compartment 14. The front compartment 13 has a transparentfront wall 16 which may be made of glass and which may be secured inplace as by cleats 17. The rear compartment 14 is closed by a rear wall19.

i Eutending through the wall 12, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, is a bearingsleeve 20 having ahead 21 which rests in a recess provided in the frontface of the wall 12. A nut. 23 is advanced on a threaded portion 24 ofthe bearing sleeve 20, against a back face of the wall 12, for rigidlysecuring the bearing sleeve 20 in place. Extending through the bearingsleeve 20 is a rotor shaft 25 having an enlarged portion 26 which restsad- ]acent to the forward end of the bearing sleeve 20. A pulley 28 issecured on the rear extending end of the rotor shaft 25, which pulleycooperates with the enlarged portion 26 to prevent axial movement in therotor shaft 25. tom of the case 11, this motor having a pulley 30 whichdrives the pulley 28 by means of a belt 31.

n A cylindrical rotor 34 which is made from insulation material issecured on a forward part 35 of the rotor shaft 25. This forward A motor29 is secured to the bot- 'angles with respect part 35 extends throughan opening 36 of the rotor 34 and is threaded to receive a nut 37 forclamping the rotor 34 rigidly against a forward face of the enlargedportion 26 of the rotor shaft 25.

Primary tubes 39 are threadably secured at 40 to the rotor 34. Theseprimary tubes 39 extend radially from the rotor 34 and in oppositedirections. Secondary tubes 42 are secured to the rotor 34, as indicatedat 43. These secondary tubes. 42 extend radially from the rotor 34 andin opposite directions. The primary and secondary tubes 39 and 42 arepreferably arranged to extend at right to each other. mary tubes 39adjustably carry primary slide bars 44 which extend from the endsthereof and which may be fixed in a desired position by set screws 45which are threaded into enlarged outer ends 46 of the primary tubes 39.4Secondary slide bars 48 are adjustably carried by the secondary tubes 42and ma be fixed in any desired position by means of set screws 49 whichextend through enlarged ends 50 of the secondary tubes 42.

Extending forwardly from the primary slide bars 44 are rimary arms 52.Extend* ing forwardly rom the secondary slide bars 48 are secondary arms53. The primary and secondary arms 52 and 53 are of the same shapeexcept that the primary arms 52 are longer than the secondary arms 53.Both of the arms are constructed -substantially as shown in Fi 7. Theforward ends of the arms are en arged as indicated at 55, and haveopenings 56 formed therein.

primary vacuum tube 58 is carried by the primary arms 52, and asecondary vacuum tube 59 is carried by the secondary and shorter arms53. As clearly shown in Fig. 7, the vacuum tubes 58 and 59'haveelectrodes 61 extending into opposite ends thereof. The electrodes areconnected with caps 62 which are placed at the ends and on the out sideof the Vacuum tubes 58 and 59.

As shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the enlarged portion 55 of the primary andsecondary arms engage the caps 62. Portions of these caps 62 extend intothe openings 56, centralizing the tubes 58 and 59 and preventing themOne of the primary from being displaced. tubes 39 is electricallyconnected to the enlarged portion 26 of the rotor shaft 25 by means of awire 64, and one of the secondary tubes 42 is electrically connected tothe portion 26 of the rotor shaft 25 by a wire 65. The wires 64 and 65,as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, extend partially through the rotor 34 andconnect to the primary and secondary tubes-39 and 42 at their innerends. Secured to the rear face of the rotor 34 is a primary or outercommutator ring 67 and an inner or secondary commutator ring 68. Theother of the primary tubes 39 is connected to the outer or primarycommutator ring 67 by a The pri- 'lll wire 70 and the other of thesecondary tubes 42 is connected to the inner or secondary commutator 68by a wire 72. l

A primary brush 74 is held in engagement with the primary commutatorring 67 by means of a s ring 75 which is retained in a sleeve 76. 'IIhissleeve 76 is supported by and extended through the central wall 12.

he spring 75 is held in the sleeve 76 by means of a screw 78. Asecondary brush is held in engagement with the secondary commutator ring68 by means of a spring 81 which is retained in a sleeve 82 which issupported b and extends through the central wall 12. 1e spring 81 isheld in position in the sleeve 82 by means of a screw 83.

In the rear compartment 14 1s placed a primary induction coil 85 and asecondary induction coil 86. The primary induction coil 85 has a primarywinding 88 and a secondary Winding 89, and the secondary iny ductioncoil 86 has a primary winding 91 and a secondary winding 92. A wire 94is secured to the primary sleeve 76 by the screw 78, thus making thewire in electrical connection with the primary brush 74. The wire 94 isalso connected lto a terminal 96 of the primary induction coil 85. Awire 98 is connected to the secondary sleeve 82 by the screw 83, thusbeing in electrical connection with the secondary brush '80, and isconnected to a terminal 99 of the induction coil 86. The terminals 96and 99 are connected to the secondary windings 89 and 92 of theinduction coils 85 and 86. Wires 101 and 102 are connected to the rearpart of the bearing sleeve 20 by means of a screw 103. The wires 101 and102 are therefore in electrical contact with the rotor shaft 25 whichrevolves in the bearing sleeve 20. The wire 101 is connected to aterminal 104 of the secondary winding 89 of the primary induction coil85, and the wire 102 is connected to a terminal 106 of the second# arywinding 92 of the secondary induction coil 89.

Connected to a terminal 108 lof the primary winding 88 of the inductioncoil 85 is a wire 109 and connected to a terminal 111 of the primarywinding 91 of the secondary coil 86 yis a wire 112. The wire 109 isconnected to a diaphragm 113 of a primary sound responsive means 114which, in the embodiment shown in the drawings, is a transmitter. Thewire 112 is connected to a diaphragm 116 of a secondary sound responsivemeans 117, which is also a transmitter.

The primary winding 88 of the induction coil 85 is provided with aprimary core 119 and theprimary winding 91 of the coil 86 is providedwith a secondary core 120. A terminal 122- of the winding 88 isconnected to a primary armature 123 and a terminal 124 of the winding 91is connected to a secondary armature 125. Placed adjacent to the primaryarmature 123 is a primary adjustable contact 126, and adjacent to thesecondary armature is a seconda adjustable contact 127. The contact 126is connected by a wire 128 to a terminal 129 and the contact 127 isconnected by a wire 133 to a terminal 134.

A primary battery 137 anda secondary battery 138 are placed in the rearcompartment 14 adjacent to the primary and secondary' induction coils 85and 86. A w1re140 is connected to a. terminal 141 of the primary battery137 and a wire 143 is connected to the terminal 134 and to a terminal144 of the secondary battery 138. n v

A wire 146 is connected to a terminal 147 of the primary battery 137,and a wire 149 is connected to a terminal 150 of the secondary battery138. The wire 146 is connected to an adjustable contact 153 of therimary sound responsive means 114, and t e wire 149 is connected to anadjustable contact 155 of the secondary sound responsive means 117. Theadjustable contact 153 is adapted to be contacted by a contact 156carried by a spring arm 157 of the primary sound responsive means 114,this spring arm 157, being associ- .ated with the diaphragm 113 in sucha man- -ner as to be flexed thereby when a certain of the primarywinding 91 of the secondary induction coil 86 are not established untilvthe contacts 156 and 160 engage the contacts 153 and of the primary andsecondary sound responsive means 114 and 117. This occurs,

only when sound vibrations of a certain range strike against thediaphragms 113 and 116,

and flex the arms 157 or 161 -sutliciently to cause engagement of thementioned contacts. l

The operation 'of either of these circuits is tho same and for thepurpose of descri tion, let us consider the operation of the primarycircuit.

'When the spring arm 157 is flexed to a certain extent the contact 156is moved into engagement with the adjustable contact 153. This willestablish the circuit of the primary winding 88 and electricity will`flow therethrough. This sets up a magnetic flux which cuts thesecondary winding 89 and causes a current to flow therein. This currentflows through the various circuit wires, the primary portion of thecontrivance and the commutator ring 67 to the primary arms 52. The

current in the secondary winding is of ve high intensity which isdesirable. The hi intensity current flows through one of t e arms 52 toone of the caps 56 by-means of which it is conveyed to one of theelectrodes 61. The current thenflows in the form of ions through theprimary vacuum tube to the other of the electrodes 61 through the othercap 56 and flows from the tube 58 through the other of the primary arms52.

When the circuit of the primary winding 88 is established the core 119is magnetized and the primary armature 123 is drawn thereagainst, out ofengagement with the contact 126. This breaks the circuit of the winding88. The armature 123 is held out of engagement with the contact 126 fora very small period of time which is sufficient for the core 119 tode-magnetize. When this occurs, the armature l123 will move back intoengagement with the contact 126 andtlius re-establishes the circuit ofthe primary winding 88. The operation of the secondary winding of myinvention is the same as the primary winding.

Als shown in Fig. 1, the primary and secondary sound responsive means114 and 117 may be arranged in a housing which is secured at the upperend of a slide 181 which is adjustably secured to a standard 182. Thislprovides a portable means for supporting the sound responsive means sothat they may be placed in a satisfactory position. In Fig. 1 Idiagrammatically illustrate a loud speaker 183 in front of which thesound responsive means are positioned. 1

The induced currents in the secondaries ot the induction coils are ofhigh intensity which is very desirable and flow vthrough the primary andsecondary vacuum tubes in the form of ions. When the ions are flowingthe' tubes are luminous in all colors of the spectrum. The colors at oneend of the tubes are different from the colors at the other end of thetubes. The colors throughout the vacuum tubes may be of a great varietyof shades, which shades are produced by changing the diameters andlengths of the vacuum tubes.

Excellent results may be obtained by coloring portions of the vacuumtubes.

The rotor 34 is rotated by means of the i motor 29 and as the vacuumtubes rotate therewith the colors are flashed at different times duringthe revolutions, depending upon the sound vibrations. As previouslymentioned,

the primary sound responsive means is adapted to respond to suchinstruments as the drum, bass viol and the lower notes of otherinstruments; and the secondary sound responsive means is adapted torespond to the higher note instruments. The vacuum tubes, for thisreason, will flash colors individually and generally at different times.It is uite impossible to describe the characteristics of the designsproduced by my invention, since they are of very. peculiar shapes andare constantly changing. A singleI sha e exists only for an instant. Itma be said, owever, that 4the designs produce by Vmy invention are 5[very beautiful in color, brilliancy and shape.

The designs enhance in color and brilliancy with the accents of themusic. When music having a drum is operating the contrivance, the beatsof the drum prominently affect the designs of the contrivance;likewiseother instruments or the voice will affect the operation of myinvention. v

My invention may be used for a number of purposes. It is useful as acontrivance of entertainment, since the different designs and coloreffects are very interesting to watch. Since the contrivance isattractive it is very Valuable for display for advertising purposes. Itis also very useful for educational purposes and may be used to trainthe eye and the ear. Instructors sometimes train children rhythm ofmusic by tapping the beats of a certain piece of music and then havingthe children guess the piece. My invention would be very useful for thispurpose. The vacuum tubes will very clearly display the accent and beatof music more nearly perfect than it is possible to do by tapping.v

In lieu of the sound responsive nieans shown I may provide a devicewhich, when the contrivance is used with a phonograph or such, may beattached directly to the sound arm thereof.

I claim as my invention:

1. In 'a contrivance of the character mentioned, the combination of: a`rotor; means i or rotating said rotor; tubes extendingfrom said rotor;slide bars slidable in said tubes; arms secured to said slide bars; acolor design producing means carried by said arms; and sound responsivemeans for operating said color design producing means.

2. In a contrivance ofthe-character mentioned, the combination of: arotor; means for rotating said rotor; tubes extendin :from said rotor;slide bars 4slidable in sai tubes; arms secured to said slide bars; acolor design producing means in the .form of a vacuum tube carried bysaid arms; and sound responsive means for operating said color designproducing means.

3. n an apparatus of the character describedz the combination of: acolor desi producing means having a vacuum tu e adapted to produce acolored light when excited by a relatively small electric current ofhigh potential; an electric circuit in which the electrodes of saidvacuum tube are included; and sound'responsive means adapted to receivea'sound and, when said sound reaches a certain pitch, to close saidcircuit.

4. An apparatus in which the combination of claim 3 is duplicated, thetwo sound responsive. means being responsive to sounds of diierentpitch, an the two vacuum tubes being juxtaposed so that the differentquality of colored lights produced by said tubes forms a variabledesign.

5. In au apparatus ofthe character described,the combination of: a colordesign producing means having vacuum tubes adapted to produce coloredlights when excited by relativel small electric currents of highpotential; e ectric circuits in which the electrodes of said vacuumtubes are included; separate sound responsive means responsive to soundsof different pitch, the vacuum tubes being juxtaposed so that thedifferent quality of colored lights produced by said tubes .forms avariable design; and means for rotating said tubes to create a novelillusion from the varying'colors produced by said tubes due tovariations in the pitch of said sounds. j

In testimonil whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at os Angeles,California, this 17th day of September, 1925.

MARGUERITE C. THOMAS.

